Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts weaved through Texas A&M defenders, cut across the field and slid behind a perfectly-timed block from Calvin Ridley. Before Hurts crossed the goal line on his 37-yard touchdown, Crimson Tide Sports Network play-by-play announcer Eli Gold belted out what everybody knew.
“Statement time,” Gold screamed before a pause for effect. “For Alabama!”
Hurts touchdown run gave No. 1 Alabama the game-over score in a 33-14 victory against No. 6 Texas A&M. It wasn’t a statement. It was another statement, the same one USC, Ole Miss, Arkansas and Tennessee learned on the way to the Crimson Tide’s 8-0 start.
MORE: Five things we learned from Alabama's win
Alabama is 8-0. Alabama has beat five ranked teams heading into its bye week. Alabama is undefeated for the sixth time heading into November under Nick Saban.
The defense and special teams have scored 12 TDs, and the combination of Hurts and running back Damien Harris is the concoction offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin is spinning into something special.
Texas A&M briefly took a 14-13 lead, but that’s when all those things that have made the Crimson Tide special went to work. Hurts and Harris led a 14-play, 77-yard drive with a TD pass to Ridley. Jonathan Allen provided the defensive TD afterward, this time on a 30-yard scoop-and-score. Hurts’ TD run was the exclamation point on that statement — and eight-week dissertation which affirmed what we’ve known for the last decade.
Alabama is the best team heading into November, and the Crimson Tide’s biggest tests will come from the same old places. With all due respect to Mississippi State and Chattanooga, LSU and Auburn remain the biggest tests on the Crimson Tide’s schedule.
Saban has lost 18 games at Alabama, and one third of those losses came against LSU and Auburn. They are the only two schools who have defeated Saban-led Alabama three times.
All of those losses were in November. Can the Tigers — or the Tigers — challenge the Tide one more time.
LSU has found some momentum under interim coach Ed Oregon, and this has been the biggest game in college football for the last decade. Even without Les Miles, the Tigers will bring it. Saban is 3-1 against his former team at Death Valley, but those four games have been decided by an average of five points and two went into overtime.
The Iron Bowl is still self-explanatory. Alabama has won four of the last five and Auburn hasn’t won in Tuscaloosa since Cam Newton’s amazing comeback in 2010, but the Tigers have showed signs of life on offense after a slow start. Would a two- or three-loss Auburn team be up for spoiling Alabama’ season? War damn right, they would.
Keep that in mind heading into another Crimson Tide November. It’s easy to fast forward to those potential College Football Playoff showdowns against Ohio State, Michigan — or even better the dream run through Ohio State and Michigan. Same goes for a potential rematch with Clemson. Washington, West Virginia, Baylor, whoever. Alabama will get a chance to make those statements later.
They have to pass against LSU and Auburn first and whoever will be in Atlanta after that. Alabama is trying to become the first team to three-peat in the SEC since Florida in 1994-96. Not everybody knows that outside of SEC country. If Saban can do that, then it would be statement time for Alabama, all right.
Bring on November, right?
